Gumbo, the Classic New Orleans Dish, Is Dead. Long Live Gumbo.

Levi Raines, the chef de delicacies at Bywater American Bistro, which opened final spring, developed an oyster gravy that’s primarily gumbo by one other identify: a creamy purée of poached oysters and grated mirliton squash served over jasmine rice with fried jerk-spiced oysters. It is as shut as Ms. Compton, an proprietor, has come to associating herself with gumbo.

“It has the core elements of gumbo,” Ms. Compton stated of the oyster gravy, “but it’s presented in a way that people don’t normally see.”

“I don’t recall anyone eating it and saying it’s gross,” Mr. Hereford stated. “But I have had people eat it and say, ‘This is not gumbo.’”

As comparable improvements mature into customary working procedures, fewer diners might query gumbos like Mr. Hereford’s. Another rising younger chef, Marcus Jacobs of Marjie’s Grill, considers the smoked hen and Thai curry gumbo he serves as a vacation particular to be one among the extra typical gadgets on a menu largely impressed by journeys to Southeast Asia.